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Tudor Rose #2
The Witch of Eye
A love that leads to treason …
1435, England. Eleanor Cobham has married into the highest ranks of the aristocracy – she is now the Duchess of Gloucester. She and her husband, the Duke Humphrey, set up a court of their own to rival the royal court in London, surrounding themselves with fascinating and influential people.
But Eleanor craves the one thing she lacks: a son and heir, and with him a possible route to the throne of England. Desperate, Eleanor turns to the one person she believes can help her: Margery Jourdemayne, a woman now remembered as the infamous Witch of Eye. Such help comes at a high price …
1435, England. Eleanor Cobham has married into the highest ranks of the aristocracy – she is now the Duchess of Gloucester. She and her husband, the Duke Humphrey, set up a court of their own to rival the royal court in London, surrounding themselves with fascinating and influential people.
But Eleanor craves the one thing she lacks: a son and heir, and with him a possible route to the throne of England. Desperate, Eleanor turns to the one person she believes can help her: Margery Jourdemayne, a woman now remembered as the infamous Witch of Eye. Such help comes at a high price …
320 pages, Paperback
First published July 21, 2016
About the author
Mari Griffith
3 books19 followersBrought up in South Wales and a fluent Welsh-speaker, Mari Griffith began her career as a singer before moving into radio and television as a presenter of many different types of programmes for children, for adults and for the BBC Television Schools Service. Then a career change saw her take up a staff appointment with BBC Wales as a bi-lingual continuity announcer. Two years later, after an intensive training course, she became a multi-camera television director, again working on a variety of programmes.
Now retired from broadcasting, Mari at last has time to concentrate on something she has always loved - writing. Short stories brought initial success, one is included in the Historical Novel Society's 2012 anthology 'The Beggar at the Gate', while another was a prize-winner in the competition associated with the HNS 2014 conference. Her debut novel 'Root of the Tudor Rose' tells the little-known story of the astonishing love affair which founded the Tudor dynasty. The book met with considerable critical acclaim, became an Amazon best-seller and remained high in the charts for well over a year.
Mari's eagerly-awaited second novel, 'The Witch of Eye', is not strictly a sequel to the first book though it takes up the story of the scheming Duchess of Gloucester, a story of intrigue, passion and ambition which culminated in the most sensational treason trial of the fifteenth century. Again published by Accent Press, it was chosen as the Welsh Books Council's 'Book of the Month' for July - the month of publication - and is now available from Amazon in Kindle and paperback versions.
Now retired from broadcasting, Mari at last has time to concentrate on something she has always loved - writing. Short stories brought initial success, one is included in the Historical Novel Society's 2012 anthology 'The Beggar at the Gate', while another was a prize-winner in the competition associated with the HNS 2014 conference. Her debut novel 'Root of the Tudor Rose' tells the little-known story of the astonishing love affair which founded the Tudor dynasty. The book met with considerable critical acclaim, became an Amazon best-seller and remained high in the charts for well over a year.
Mari's eagerly-awaited second novel, 'The Witch of Eye', is not strictly a sequel to the first book though it takes up the story of the scheming Duchess of Gloucester, a story of intrigue, passion and ambition which culminated in the most sensational treason trial of the fifteenth century. Again published by Accent Press, it was chosen as the Welsh Books Council's 'Book of the Month' for July - the month of publication - and is now available from Amazon in Kindle and paperback versions.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 20, 2016
Good good good book :)
August 29, 2018
The ambitious Eleanor Cobham has become the Duchess of Gloucester, the foremost lady in the land and the wife of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester and heir to the English throne. But she lacks a son and heir, her one way to consolidate her position and path to the throne. Margery Jourdemayne, a wise woman once accused of witchcraft and now hungry for advancement and money, may be able to aid her. Meanwhile, Jenna, a sweet dairymaid, flees from her abusive drunkard husband and becomes entangled in the ambitions of both women after taking work with Margery Jourdemayne’s husband, William.
I suppose I should start by saying that The Witch of Eye is a stronger work than Mari Griffith’s first novel, Root of the Tudor Rose. There’s no glaringly obvious problem with tone here and the characters are significantly more intelligent than Griffith’s take on Catherine “I do believe Englishmen have tails, I do!” de Valois.
That’s not to say that this is a good book. The summary I’ve given is actually a fairer and more accurate description of the plot than the description given by publishers, because the main thrust of the story is the sweet dairymaid, Jenna, and her budding romance with William Jourdemayne.
And here I picked this up because, however much I wasn’t a fan of Root of the Tudor Rose, this claimed to be about Eleanor Cobham, a figure I’m fascinated by and desperately want to read about.
So I didn’t want to read about Jenna. And on top of that, I’m given no reason to care about her. I don’t care about her sweetness and purity, mainly because it’s shallower than a puddle. She’s incredibly passive and never once exercises her agency. She does what she’s told and the plot gives her multiple occasions to do something, yet she never does. In one scene, she realises her mistress, Margery, is a liar and is deeply uncomfortable with that. But never once does she ever do anything about it, not even when she is given a gift-wrapped opportunity to speak up and expose Margery. And this is all excused by Jenna deciding that she, for some unknown reason, owes Margery loyalty. The story never takes Jenna to task for this, either. There’s not even a moment where she briefly regrets that things could have been different, that people might not have died or been ruined, had she spoken up or done something.
And I don’t care that her major dilemma is being in love with a married man – and it’s okay he’s married, because his wife is ambitious and doesn’t do the work he wants her to do, so she deserves to be cheated on. (Authors? This thing of characterising the spouse as an awful person so we don’t feel bad when they’re cheated on has to stop. It’s not pretty nor clever.) In fact, I began to feel distinctly uncomfortable with Jenna when it became clear that she prioritises shagging William Jourdemayne over her young surrogate daughter, Kitty, or the incredibly vulnerable Eleanor in her time of need. Oh, and Jenna gets the only happy ending in the book, her abusive drunk husband conveniently dropping dead offscreen so she can happily marry William once his nasty wife is out of the picture. Hurrah, hurrah. I want to puke.
Before I start talking about anything else, the book gets really weird about Jenna. It’s not enough that she’s a dairymaid working for the Jourdemaynes, no. She has to be taken on by Margery as an apprentice, learning herblore and helping Margery spruik her skincare line (which she doesn’t use because she’s omg so naturally pretty and youthful). Then, when Sarah, Eleanor’s only maid/tiring woman/lady-in-waiting, breaks an ankle, Jenna replaces her. It should be a disaster because Jenna does not know how to dress hair, let alone the finer details of court life, and Eleanor’s characterisation varies from demanding harridan to uppity bitch. But no, no, no. The narrative and characters twist themselves into knots to let Jenna be in that pivotal, integral role. So Jenna automatically becomes Eleanor’s bestest buddy, sole confidant and the most awesome, innovative maid/tiring woman/lady-in-waiting ever.
NO. If your characters have to betray their intrinsic characterisation in order for your plot to work, STOP.
So let’s talk about Griffith’s take on Eleanor, since Eleanor was the sole reason I picked this up. To sum my reaction up in four words: disappointed, but not surprised.
The dominant and only surviving narrative of Eleanor’s life is that she was a shameless hussy who enticed a man (Humphrey, the Duke of Gloucester) away from his lawful wife and spent the remainder of their marriage as an overambitious, vain woman who turned to illicit methods to secure her position and plot the death of the young king (and her nephew by marriage), Henry VI, all so she could become queen.
It is impossible to tell how much of this narrative accurately reflects the real Eleanor. But it is a narrative ripe for interrogation.
It is easy to see the misogyny dripping off it – women are enchantresses who seduce men away from their loyal wives, women with ambition are evil and unnatural, deserving of punishment. It is entirely possible, of course, that the charges of treasonable necromancy against Eleanor were exaggerated and falsified, that she was not the overambitious harridan who ruined herself by seeking to be queen. Gloucester was involved in a bitter political struggle with Cardinal Henry Beaufort – perhaps Eleanor’s downfall was little more than a plot to weaken Gloucester’s credibility and position? Perhaps the fact that Gloucester “lost” this struggle led to the narrative never being significantly challenged?
There is plenty of opportunity for that narrative to be scrutinised and challenged, but Griffith pretty much takes it as verbatim. The only thing she challenges is Gloucester’s innocence in his seduction, instead characterising him as a remorseless womaniser who preyed on Eleanor for sex as much as she preyed on him for power.
Eleanor is insecure about her title and position, turning to the wise-woman Margery for lotions to preserve her youth, obsessed with her choice of clothing and jewels, and constantly correcting those who call her “my lady” instead of “your grace”. This malarkey with Eleanor’s titles is probably meant to show Eleanor for the uppity bitch the author clearly thinks she was. Yet I would assume that a servant who constantly referred to a duchess who, as the king was unmarried, just happened to be the foremost woman in the land, incorrectly as “my lady” would be severely punished and probably dismissed. So Eleanor’s behaviour looks to me less uppity bitch and more… well, kind. And the servants who insistently call her a title not befitting her rank, well, they begin to look incompetent and snobby, looking down at a woman they think has no right to be where she is.
There are moments of deeper characterisation, where Eleanor seems to grow beyond her narrow, ambitious viewpoint, where she develops sympathy for others (really only Jenna) or where she regrets that she has been so ambitious and devoted to getting her man. That’s… well, that’s some depth and growth so good. Yet it leaves a nasty taste in my mouth. I am sick of women being demonised and punished for their ambition. I am sick of so-called ambitious women needing to learn that it’s better to stay in their lane than want more. I am sick of the demonization of women struggling with fertility. I am sick of stories that continue to push these toxic narratives.
We don’t know that Eleanor and her husband’s relationship was based around sex and her desire for power. We don’t know they didn’t love each other. We don’t know that Eleanor wanted children to solely advance her position. We don’t know that Eleanor (or her husband) viewed their lack of children as anything more but a tragedy. We don’t know that Eleanor dedicated herself solely to marrying a high profile man, scorning all other avenues of life.
We also don’t know that Gloucester was a womaniser. Based on The Witch of Eye, you might expect Gloucester would respond to Eleanor’s disgrace and downfall and their forced divorce by shacking up with a new stunning young bride. Instead, the historical Gloucester retired from public life and remained single to his death, six years later. I believe there is even an account that says he was enticed to into the trap that ultimately killed him by the possibility of gaining a pardon for Eleanor. Additionally, there is no evidence that this apparently notorious womaniser had a mistress or any extramarital affairs after he married Eleanor, even in the years after their divorce.
Of the three women at the centre of The Witch of Eye, only one has a happy ending – and it’s the sweet and humble dairymaid who just wants to be a good dairymaid and bag herself a nice husband. Who, as I said above, abandons the girl and woman who need her to, quite literally, roll around in the hay with her man. What is feminism? We just don’t know.
In terms of historical accuracy, beyond what I’ve detailed above, it can perhaps be best summed up by the author’s note in which Griffith seems to imply that Henry VII and the Tudor line based their claim to their throne around their descent from Catherine de Valois and Owen Tudor. This is sheer and utter lunacy. Neither Catherine or Tudor had a drop of blood that would entitle them to the English throne. The Tudor claim to the throne, quite simply, was always based on their descent from the Beaufort line and, ultimately, John of Gaunt, third son of Edward III. To put it another way, if Henry VII had based his claim around his descendent from a French princess and a Welsh commoner, he would have been laughed out of England.
I started this book thinking it was a bit dull and disappointed by its take on Eleanor. But I finished it angry. I found Jenna to be a complete waste of narrative focus. The book’s take on women, demonising Eleanor and Margery for their ambition while celebrating Jenna’s passivity, leaves me deeply uncomfortable. Its take on history is clumsy at best, downright ludicrous at worst, while its attempts to manipulate readers was transparent and ugly. Finally, it somehow managed to regurgitate nearly every sexist narrative trope I’m sick of.
I suppose I should start by saying that The Witch of Eye is a stronger work than Mari Griffith’s first novel, Root of the Tudor Rose. There’s no glaringly obvious problem with tone here and the characters are significantly more intelligent than Griffith’s take on Catherine “I do believe Englishmen have tails, I do!” de Valois.
That’s not to say that this is a good book. The summary I’ve given is actually a fairer and more accurate description of the plot than the description given by publishers, because the main thrust of the story is the sweet dairymaid, Jenna, and her budding romance with William Jourdemayne.
And here I picked this up because, however much I wasn’t a fan of Root of the Tudor Rose, this claimed to be about Eleanor Cobham, a figure I’m fascinated by and desperately want to read about.
So I didn’t want to read about Jenna. And on top of that, I’m given no reason to care about her. I don’t care about her sweetness and purity, mainly because it’s shallower than a puddle. She’s incredibly passive and never once exercises her agency. She does what she’s told and the plot gives her multiple occasions to do something, yet she never does. In one scene, she realises her mistress, Margery, is a liar and is deeply uncomfortable with that. But never once does she ever do anything about it, not even when she is given a gift-wrapped opportunity to speak up and expose Margery. And this is all excused by Jenna deciding that she, for some unknown reason, owes Margery loyalty. The story never takes Jenna to task for this, either. There’s not even a moment where she briefly regrets that things could have been different, that people might not have died or been ruined, had she spoken up or done something.
And I don’t care that her major dilemma is being in love with a married man – and it’s okay he’s married, because his wife is ambitious and doesn’t do the work he wants her to do, so she deserves to be cheated on. (Authors? This thing of characterising the spouse as an awful person so we don’t feel bad when they’re cheated on has to stop. It’s not pretty nor clever.) In fact, I began to feel distinctly uncomfortable with Jenna when it became clear that she prioritises shagging William Jourdemayne over her young surrogate daughter, Kitty, or the incredibly vulnerable Eleanor in her time of need. Oh, and Jenna gets the only happy ending in the book, her abusive drunk husband conveniently dropping dead offscreen so she can happily marry William once his nasty wife is out of the picture. Hurrah, hurrah. I want to puke.
Before I start talking about anything else, the book gets really weird about Jenna. It’s not enough that she’s a dairymaid working for the Jourdemaynes, no. She has to be taken on by Margery as an apprentice, learning herblore and helping Margery spruik her skincare line (which she doesn’t use because she’s omg so naturally pretty and youthful). Then, when Sarah, Eleanor’s only maid/tiring woman/lady-in-waiting, breaks an ankle, Jenna replaces her. It should be a disaster because Jenna does not know how to dress hair, let alone the finer details of court life, and Eleanor’s characterisation varies from demanding harridan to uppity bitch. But no, no, no. The narrative and characters twist themselves into knots to let Jenna be in that pivotal, integral role. So Jenna automatically becomes Eleanor’s bestest buddy, sole confidant and the most awesome, innovative maid/tiring woman/lady-in-waiting ever.
NO. If your characters have to betray their intrinsic characterisation in order for your plot to work, STOP.
So let’s talk about Griffith’s take on Eleanor, since Eleanor was the sole reason I picked this up. To sum my reaction up in four words: disappointed, but not surprised.
The dominant and only surviving narrative of Eleanor’s life is that she was a shameless hussy who enticed a man (Humphrey, the Duke of Gloucester) away from his lawful wife and spent the remainder of their marriage as an overambitious, vain woman who turned to illicit methods to secure her position and plot the death of the young king (and her nephew by marriage), Henry VI, all so she could become queen.
It is impossible to tell how much of this narrative accurately reflects the real Eleanor. But it is a narrative ripe for interrogation.
It is easy to see the misogyny dripping off it – women are enchantresses who seduce men away from their loyal wives, women with ambition are evil and unnatural, deserving of punishment. It is entirely possible, of course, that the charges of treasonable necromancy against Eleanor were exaggerated and falsified, that she was not the overambitious harridan who ruined herself by seeking to be queen. Gloucester was involved in a bitter political struggle with Cardinal Henry Beaufort – perhaps Eleanor’s downfall was little more than a plot to weaken Gloucester’s credibility and position? Perhaps the fact that Gloucester “lost” this struggle led to the narrative never being significantly challenged?
There is plenty of opportunity for that narrative to be scrutinised and challenged, but Griffith pretty much takes it as verbatim. The only thing she challenges is Gloucester’s innocence in his seduction, instead characterising him as a remorseless womaniser who preyed on Eleanor for sex as much as she preyed on him for power.
Eleanor is insecure about her title and position, turning to the wise-woman Margery for lotions to preserve her youth, obsessed with her choice of clothing and jewels, and constantly correcting those who call her “my lady” instead of “your grace”. This malarkey with Eleanor’s titles is probably meant to show Eleanor for the uppity bitch the author clearly thinks she was. Yet I would assume that a servant who constantly referred to a duchess who, as the king was unmarried, just happened to be the foremost woman in the land, incorrectly as “my lady” would be severely punished and probably dismissed. So Eleanor’s behaviour looks to me less uppity bitch and more… well, kind. And the servants who insistently call her a title not befitting her rank, well, they begin to look incompetent and snobby, looking down at a woman they think has no right to be where she is.
There are moments of deeper characterisation, where Eleanor seems to grow beyond her narrow, ambitious viewpoint, where she develops sympathy for others (really only Jenna) or where she regrets that she has been so ambitious and devoted to getting her man. That’s… well, that’s some depth and growth so good. Yet it leaves a nasty taste in my mouth. I am sick of women being demonised and punished for their ambition. I am sick of so-called ambitious women needing to learn that it’s better to stay in their lane than want more. I am sick of the demonization of women struggling with fertility. I am sick of stories that continue to push these toxic narratives.
We don’t know that Eleanor and her husband’s relationship was based around sex and her desire for power. We don’t know they didn’t love each other. We don’t know that Eleanor wanted children to solely advance her position. We don’t know that Eleanor (or her husband) viewed their lack of children as anything more but a tragedy. We don’t know that Eleanor dedicated herself solely to marrying a high profile man, scorning all other avenues of life.
We also don’t know that Gloucester was a womaniser. Based on The Witch of Eye, you might expect Gloucester would respond to Eleanor’s disgrace and downfall and their forced divorce by shacking up with a new stunning young bride. Instead, the historical Gloucester retired from public life and remained single to his death, six years later. I believe there is even an account that says he was enticed to into the trap that ultimately killed him by the possibility of gaining a pardon for Eleanor. Additionally, there is no evidence that this apparently notorious womaniser had a mistress or any extramarital affairs after he married Eleanor, even in the years after their divorce.
Of the three women at the centre of The Witch of Eye, only one has a happy ending – and it’s the sweet and humble dairymaid who just wants to be a good dairymaid and bag herself a nice husband. Who, as I said above, abandons the girl and woman who need her to, quite literally, roll around in the hay with her man. What is feminism? We just don’t know.
In terms of historical accuracy, beyond what I’ve detailed above, it can perhaps be best summed up by the author’s note in which Griffith seems to imply that Henry VII and the Tudor line based their claim to their throne around their descent from Catherine de Valois and Owen Tudor. This is sheer and utter lunacy. Neither Catherine or Tudor had a drop of blood that would entitle them to the English throne. The Tudor claim to the throne, quite simply, was always based on their descent from the Beaufort line and, ultimately, John of Gaunt, third son of Edward III. To put it another way, if Henry VII had based his claim around his descendent from a French princess and a Welsh commoner, he would have been laughed out of England.
I started this book thinking it was a bit dull and disappointed by its take on Eleanor. But I finished it angry. I found Jenna to be a complete waste of narrative focus. The book’s take on women, demonising Eleanor and Margery for their ambition while celebrating Jenna’s passivity, leaves me deeply uncomfortable. Its take on history is clumsy at best, downright ludicrous at worst, while its attempts to manipulate readers was transparent and ugly. Finally, it somehow managed to regurgitate nearly every sexist narrative trope I’m sick of.
August 6, 2017
This is a superb novel beautifully written with a gallery of engaging characters. I would like to point out that the research is thorough and as a reader I felt immersed in the period and the story. I loved that I was reading about a manor at Westminster which I never knew existed and about ordinary people as well as the nobility. The clergy were well presented too. A highly reccomended read for anyone who enjoys the fifteenth century, its cruelty and its colour as well as its mores such as the superstition that haunted both court and land.
August 9, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed this historical novel based on the scandal of Eleanor Cobham, the Duchess of Gloucester at the time of Henry VI, and Margery Jourdemayne, the titular Witch of Eye.
Great characters and a vivid portrayal of the time, with all
the political intrigue of the royal court
Great characters and a vivid portrayal of the time, with all
the political intrigue of the royal court
August 9, 2025
Eleanor Cobham is insecure in her position as Duchess of Gloucester, desperate for a child. She engages the services of an alleged witch to help her conceive...
The Witch of Eye is the second book by this author about the Wars of the Roses.
Eleanor's personal troubles are delivered against the backdrop of Henry VI’s lacklustre kingship. Many characters and many political and personal machinations as the throne is fought for.
There is also a poignant storyline of unrequited love as Jenna runs from her violent husband and falls in love with the witch's husband.
I really enjoyed this book. It is packed full of well researched historical information as well as the human detail about the people behind the events. This is especially true of the female characters who are often missing from the pages of history but are at the forefront of this book. The writing style is easy to read but the list of characters (often with similar names) is extensive.
The Witch of Eye is an interesting and well written book about the personal side to the Wars of the Roses. Sadly there are no more books in this series as the author died.
The Witch of Eye is the second book by this author about the Wars of the Roses.
Eleanor's personal troubles are delivered against the backdrop of Henry VI’s lacklustre kingship. Many characters and many political and personal machinations as the throne is fought for.
There is also a poignant storyline of unrequited love as Jenna runs from her violent husband and falls in love with the witch's husband.
I really enjoyed this book. It is packed full of well researched historical information as well as the human detail about the people behind the events. This is especially true of the female characters who are often missing from the pages of history but are at the forefront of this book. The writing style is easy to read but the list of characters (often with similar names) is extensive.
The Witch of Eye is an interesting and well written book about the personal side to the Wars of the Roses. Sadly there are no more books in this series as the author died.
November 3, 2017
THE WITCH OF EYE is an historical novel set in the 15th century when women had no status and few choices in life.
The three characters in this novel: a lady of royalty, a wise woman ( healer) and a dairymaid were written as distinctive and single-minded despite the limitations society placed upon them.
A woman who is ambitious, intelligent, educated is always under suspicion whether it be in Medeival times or today.
The wise woman winds up being condemned a witch and burned at the stake. The duchess is put on trial and banished. The kind, feminine sweet caring dairy maid triumphs.
As in this novel, it seems as if things have not changed in some ways, for example a woman dares to run for president and is put down by those in power and is judged much more severely than her male counterpart’s.
This historical novel is accurately drawn by the author. However at times it felt very textbook and the storyline moved along very slowly. It was the three female lead characters that held my interest.
The three characters in this novel: a lady of royalty, a wise woman ( healer) and a dairymaid were written as distinctive and single-minded despite the limitations society placed upon them.
A woman who is ambitious, intelligent, educated is always under suspicion whether it be in Medeival times or today.
The wise woman winds up being condemned a witch and burned at the stake. The duchess is put on trial and banished. The kind, feminine sweet caring dairy maid triumphs.
As in this novel, it seems as if things have not changed in some ways, for example a woman dares to run for president and is put down by those in power and is judged much more severely than her male counterpart’s.
This historical novel is accurately drawn by the author. However at times it felt very textbook and the storyline moved along very slowly. It was the three female lead characters that held my interest.
June 5, 2017
I think the author here must have done a lot of research! This is a really informative book especially if you've ever bee4n interested in the middle ages and their customs. There is also a pretty good story here of a young woman Jenny who has to run away from home to escape an abusive husband and then finds herself in a position working for a dairy master and his wife who is a medicine woman - but who also gets herself in trouble for dabbling in witchcraft sometimes! But I have to say that I read this on a friend's recommendation and it wasn't something I usually would read - not really my favorite genre - I thought it was a bit slow. But if you're in love with the middle ages then yes, there's a lot here that is really fascinating!
December 6, 2017
happy and sad when I come to the end my thought was filled with past events and hearts of people. I like the way author depicting ideas and lives of one and each characters I feel something comfortable it's not every events were comfortable but just comfortable way.
April 4, 2019
Very Good...
Based on real life events, one of the best books I have read in a while, give it a try.
Based on real life events, one of the best books I have read in a while, give it a try.
May 21, 2020
The Witch of Eye is set in 15th century England during the reign of Henry VI. The plot line is supposed to be about Eleanor Cobham, an ambitious woman, who manages to steal the heart of Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, uncle of King Henry, and current heir to the throne of England, and her relationship with notorious “wise woman” Marjery Jourdemayne. Marjery has already been arrested and imprisoned ten years ago, on charges of witchcraft, but her husband managed to bail her out with money. However, the story wasn’t only about these two well known figures in history. It was also about a dairymaid called Jenna, a fictional character, who runs away from her home in Devon to escape her violent and abusive husband. She finds work at a farm in Westminster, Eyebury Farm, where the farmer and his wife are none other than William and Marjery Jourdemayne.
Eleanor frequently purchases products made by Marjery, such as face cream, tooth tincture, headache remedies , and so on. She sends her (only) maid to the farm to summon Marjery to the palace quite regularly. Marjery isn’t happy with her lot in life. She believes that herself and her husband deserve more than to be tenant farmers, she believes that they’re destined to at least own a farm of their own. Her association with the Duchess of Gloucester is a lucrative one, so she sees it as a way to make her dreams a reality.
Eleanor is desperately trying to provide a child and heir for her husband, but without luck. She enlists the help of Marjery, taking any remedies she knows of which help with fertility. When this sees no results, Marjery decides to introduce Eleanor to the dark arts as a possible way to conceive. She enlists the help of two clergymen who are already in the service of the Duke and Duchess.
Rewind back to Jenna. Marjery removes her from the farm work, and brings her inside the farmhouse to aide with her own work for the Duchess. But she finds herself (bizarrely) thrust into the service of Eleanor, after Eleanor’s only maid has an accident and breaks her ankle. This is so unbelievable. Jenna, a farm girl with zero experience in being a lady’s maid, (let alone a lady’s maid in the service of royalty) to be transferred to the palace and be employed by a royal Duchess. Strange.
Back to Marjery. Her initial experiments have not worked in Eleanor’s favour, and delves deeper and deeper into dark magic, more commonly known as sorcery. Still no positive results.
Cardinal Beaufort has no love lost for his nephew Duke Humphrey of Gloucester, not his wife Eleanor. When it comes to his attention that Eleanor has employed a notorious wise woman and witch, he moves at speed to see action is taken. Arrests are made, evidence and witnesses are gathered, and trials commence. As we know from historical record, Eleanor and Marjery are indeed found guilty of witchcraft, and treason. Marjery is sentenced to burn. Eleanor is shown far greater leniency due to her rank, and is ordered to do three walks of penance, barefoot, carrying a lit taper. And is also granted divorce from her husband, along with royal imprisonment.
Back at the farm, Jenna had previously fallen in love with William Jourdemayne, and he with her. Conveniently, Jenna hears news of her husband. He is dead, from a drunken farm accident. Which gives her the ability to marry William. And of course, they’ll live happily ever after.
I’m not sure what the purpose of Jenna was in the plot. Her story didn’t add anything to the book.
I didn’t enjoy this all that much. It seemed to drag on, and some of the characters were at best unlikable.
Eleanor frequently purchases products made by Marjery, such as face cream, tooth tincture, headache remedies , and so on. She sends her (only) maid to the farm to summon Marjery to the palace quite regularly. Marjery isn’t happy with her lot in life. She believes that herself and her husband deserve more than to be tenant farmers, she believes that they’re destined to at least own a farm of their own. Her association with the Duchess of Gloucester is a lucrative one, so she sees it as a way to make her dreams a reality.
Eleanor is desperately trying to provide a child and heir for her husband, but without luck. She enlists the help of Marjery, taking any remedies she knows of which help with fertility. When this sees no results, Marjery decides to introduce Eleanor to the dark arts as a possible way to conceive. She enlists the help of two clergymen who are already in the service of the Duke and Duchess.
Rewind back to Jenna. Marjery removes her from the farm work, and brings her inside the farmhouse to aide with her own work for the Duchess. But she finds herself (bizarrely) thrust into the service of Eleanor, after Eleanor’s only maid has an accident and breaks her ankle. This is so unbelievable. Jenna, a farm girl with zero experience in being a lady’s maid, (let alone a lady’s maid in the service of royalty) to be transferred to the palace and be employed by a royal Duchess. Strange.
Back to Marjery. Her initial experiments have not worked in Eleanor’s favour, and delves deeper and deeper into dark magic, more commonly known as sorcery. Still no positive results.
Cardinal Beaufort has no love lost for his nephew Duke Humphrey of Gloucester, not his wife Eleanor. When it comes to his attention that Eleanor has employed a notorious wise woman and witch, he moves at speed to see action is taken. Arrests are made, evidence and witnesses are gathered, and trials commence. As we know from historical record, Eleanor and Marjery are indeed found guilty of witchcraft, and treason. Marjery is sentenced to burn. Eleanor is shown far greater leniency due to her rank, and is ordered to do three walks of penance, barefoot, carrying a lit taper. And is also granted divorce from her husband, along with royal imprisonment.
Back at the farm, Jenna had previously fallen in love with William Jourdemayne, and he with her. Conveniently, Jenna hears news of her husband. He is dead, from a drunken farm accident. Which gives her the ability to marry William. And of course, they’ll live happily ever after.
I’m not sure what the purpose of Jenna was in the plot. Her story didn’t add anything to the book.
I didn’t enjoy this all that much. It seemed to drag on, and some of the characters were at best unlikable.
September 14, 2016
Set in the mid-Fifteenth Century, The Witch of Eye is a historical fiction based on the true story of Margery Jourdemayne, a wise woman from Eye Next Westminster, who was eventually burned at the stake. The infamous Witch of Eye acts on behalf of the Duchess of Gloucester, Eleanor Cobham, who is desperate to give Duke Humphrey a son. Into these known facts Mari Griffith skillfully weaves an invented love story between a dairymaid called Jenna Harding, and Margery Jourdemayne's yeoman farmer husband, William.
Griffith draws a convincing scene of life in medieval England and her attention to detail is very impressive. She portrays that ambiguous time when people of all ranks looked to supernatural forces to help them achieve their desires, sometimes even assisted by members of the clergy. Jenna Harding is the most modern - and appealing - character who is drawn into dangerous circumstances over which she has little control. Fortunately, things work out well for her in the end.
I enjoyed this well-paced book. Highly recommended if you like a touch of romance in your historical fiction!
Griffith draws a convincing scene of life in medieval England and her attention to detail is very impressive. She portrays that ambiguous time when people of all ranks looked to supernatural forces to help them achieve their desires, sometimes even assisted by members of the clergy. Jenna Harding is the most modern - and appealing - character who is drawn into dangerous circumstances over which she has little control. Fortunately, things work out well for her in the end.
I enjoyed this well-paced book. Highly recommended if you like a touch of romance in your historical fiction!
September 21, 2016
Slow to get going
As I read over half this book I had begun to wonder when the character in the title was going to make a proper appearance. It felt that the Duchess of Gloucester was a periphery character, this confused me somewhat. It was good to actually get to the meat of the tale. That Janna is a fictional character, through whom the tale is told, appealed to me. She's meant to be sympathetic and certainly is so, but I also appreciated her strong personality. This is a light read and all in all I enjoyed it.
As I read over half this book I had begun to wonder when the character in the title was going to make a proper appearance. It felt that the Duchess of Gloucester was a periphery character, this confused me somewhat. It was good to actually get to the meat of the tale. That Janna is a fictional character, through whom the tale is told, appealed to me. She's meant to be sympathetic and certainly is so, but I also appreciated her strong personality. This is a light read and all in all I enjoyed it.
Read
January 15, 2017very enjoyable
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